Seven Ways to Boost Confidence for Brides
Confidence building can come in many different forms like from a work-out, taking a new class and meeting like-minded people to having professional support to help you through your current life challenges.
A lack of confidence can mean different things to different people. Sometimes it can develop during a past event or trauma. When you lack confidence, you may spend most of your time worrying about how others may see you physically or mentally and feel you don’t meet up to their expectations. You don’t feel deserving of, or capable of following things through which may lead to having difficulty in speaking up and not wanting to rock the boat with others.
However, being more confident within yourself can be a great step to helping you overcome pre-wedding anxiety in the lead up to your wedding day. Depending on your end game your goal to being confident will result in you feeling stronger, attractive, empowered, self-assured, sexy and ready to take on the world!
Let’s talk about confidence and feeling sexy for a moment. Feeling sexy is not just about attracting someone else but everything to do with feeling confident in your own skin. Self-love is incredible and can help you open the doors to loving your mind, body and soul!
We all know daily life can sometimes have it challenges and you may be already experiencing an immense amount of pressure in your homelife or at work. However, in addition to your hectic lifestyle planning a wedding can be quite a laborious task when it comes to sourcing your perfect venue and suppliers and making numerous decisions while trying to keep a good balance with family and friends.
Being in this unwanted spotlight can be pressure enough especially when you are left to make the right choices, you worry about everything all the time, but having sleepless nights can lead to exhaustion and a knock of your confidence. Adding planning a wedding to the mix of your daily chores can suddenly make you feel it has become the main focus from everything else for the next few weeks, months or even years!
Although this article is aimed for brides anyone can join in with the following activities and it’s great for hen party ideas too but be sure to seek medical advice beforehand.
Here are some ways to gain a confidence boost whether you are planning on surprising your partner for Valentine’s day; a birthday; christmas gift; or as a special memorable gift to yourself. This is for you!
1. Boost your confidence with a boudoir photo shoot experience!
Yes, you read right, a boudoir experience! Are you on a journey of self-discovery and trying to find your inner sexiness and just want a confidence boost? A boudoir photo shoot session can be the very thing that is just for you. If your sceptical about boudoir photography it can draw a fine line between fashion portraits and what most of us want, in an elegant and glamorous way and be something beautiful to remember. Boudoir photography can offer this and much more! Not only is it about intimate photography, but a special shoot to help identify your confidence and feeling of self-empowerment which will in turn release your sensuality.
Why intimate boudoir photography?
Boudoir photography can be such a self-discovery experience and a good way to boost your confidence before your wedding. The intimate boudoir shoot will help make you get used to being in the spotlight, so let’s get you ready to nail your walk down the aisle and let everyone see you shine with confidence on your big day! During the shoot you will learn how to pose your face and body and be more comfortable not only in front of the camera but also in your own skin, this is a good way to practice gaining your confidence and being relaxed before having to pose for tons of wedding photos!
You may already be confident in front of a camera and know how to nail it to get gorgeous photos, so let me give you another reason for why I still want to encourage you to do a boudoir shoot. What do you think about when I say, let’s get your lover the perfect gift? Maybe something a little bit more personal and special, and let’s be honest there is nothing like giving a gift, that you have been a part of creating and had an amazing and fun experience doing. And let’s be honest your partner will be crazy about it too!
One of the best Uk boudoir photographers
Kate Hopewell Smith a UK boudoir photographer based in North Buckinghamshire and named one of the Uk’s best boudoir photographers, has been offering luxury boudoir shoots for many years and fully understands that the boudoir experience is so much more than just taking lovely photos. Kate is known to provide her clients with beautiful home staging within a safe environment, allowing for a totally relaxing experience. Clients are also given the option of a bespoke service where they can have their shoot set up in the comfort of their own homes.
For most of us, finding your self-confidence can sometimes require getting ourselves out of our comfort zone, and who knows you may experience another side to your personality you never knew existed! As intimidating as it may sound to wear so little clothes on camera, just remember you are in good hands and with your professional photographer that will help you let go of your self-consciousness, own your own sensuality, and make sure you are having an amazing time!
Remember that you are the boss of you, not only should you decide which kind of boudoir style photography to have by bringing your own sexiest women’s lingerie and accessories with you, will ensure you feel comfortable and will make you feel sexy. All you have to do on the day is relax and feel at ease and let the makeup artist glam you up! When you live in the moment, anything is possible, and that is so exciting, and super sexy.
TIP: It’s always worth going for a trial with both the photographer and makeup artist to ensure you are comfortable with them and both on the same page!
2. Make your lingerie stand out with a sexy bridal garter
A garter is a band of fabric typically worn around the leg-thigh area. Wearing a wedding garter is an old tradition. Traditionally, it would be worn to ensure a stocking or long sock is securely held up, but nowadays its often more as a sexy fashion statement and worn as a seductive lingerie piece. They however have always been associated as a bridal accessory. At some weddings you would see a wedding garter being tossed. The garter toss is remarkably similar to the bouquet toss. The recipient that catches the garter is believed to be married next.
There are so many different styles of garters, but a wedding garter normally comes in a gathered, glossy silk style, on a lace or ribbon band with a few different finishes such as bows, appliques, beading, rhinestones, or gems and you even can get custom or personalised wedding garters! They are made in various colours, however for brides they are more popular when the primary colour is kept in conventional white and trimming or delicate bows there may be an element for a something blue wedding garter, or another perfect shade from the rainbow.
There are a variety of wedding garter styles, but it depends on what style you are going for on our VWUK Designs Etsy store you may find different Etsy wedding garters for a modern wedding garter look, a luxury wedding garter, or a more vintage garter look. VWUK Designs was founded by Sharon Valentine the Wedding Planning Director of Valentine Weddings UK. Sharon is sharing her handcraft designs of unique appliques sets, ivory lace garters something blue garters and other related wedding items such as bridal belts bridal hairpins wedding day emergency bag and fabric bouquets
3. Finding your confidence through burlesque
Have you ever seen the American movie Burlesque? I mean how sexy were the beautiful actresses in their seductive outfits and all the glam performing their le Moulin Rouge!
Burlesque is an art of a self-rewarding, sexy, and powerful expression of dance. If you think you do not have a burlesque body then you will be surprised to learn how burlesque can help you gain confidence for all body types no matter your background, height, or age, you can enjoy the welcoming environment by attending a local class or virtually online which is ideal during the UK lockdown.
The house of Burlesque offers beginner and intermediate classes for groups or 1-2-1 lessons. Being proactive with other like minded people can be a great way to meet new friends who are looking to have fun just like you!
But why stop there? If you are loving it and now mastered the moves why not arrange a burlesque shoot as this would give you a great excuse to glam up and put on a sexy outfit and create some everlasting memories.
Or Pole Dancing for Good Stamina
If burlesque is not your thing this activity maybe more up your street! Pole dancing can help you gain self-love and confidence through the art of fitness it not only enhances your body strength but helps stimulates your mind too!
4. Exercises to help with confidence building
We have spoke about erotic and entertainment fitness in point 3 however, one of the most effective ways to build self-confidence is to become more confident through general exercise. Any form of exercise from weights, yoga, swimming to aerobics can act as a good stress reliever.
Exercise for your body
Sometimes self-esteem issues are tied to body perception. Physical activity in any form boosts feel-good chemicals to the brain. Regular exercise will help to build confidence and your body image.
Routine exercising is all about setting goals and is a great step to investing in your physical and mental state. It will start making you feel better about yourself and help you gain a sense of achievement.
Yoga strengthens both body and mind. It helps to improves your flexibility and balance. But did you know that yoga can increase your self-confidence as well? Well, this is true! When practicing it you will gain a higher level of understanding over your mind and body and through this understanding the negative thoughts previously surrounding your limitations will gradually disappear.
Exercise for your mind
Not only does regular exercising make your body stronger but it can also make you smarter too! Your brain gets fed with valuable nutrients and oxygen which helps to improve cognitive function. It can also help to lower the risk of high blood pressure and chronic disease.
Exercising can help you feel more alert and focused and as you grow fonder with your workouts you will start to make lifestyle changes like cut out bad food habits and poor diet choices.
Here are some foods that can help to stimulate your brain: Oily fish, greens, salads, nuts, chick peas, avocado, pumpkin seeds, turmeric, dark chocolate, blueberries
5. Meditation and Mindfulness techniques
Meditation is a part of yoga and practised through movement. Both methods helps deal with the mental relaxation and concentration of the mind. Meditation itself is where an individual is kept still with their eyes closed, a technique such as mindfulness is used to help clear the mind from self-talk, particularly when feeling anxious or stressed, negative thoughts can cause insecurity and low self-esteem.
Channelling your mind through meditation is meant to help you become peaceful and build a quiet zone. By learning these skills, it can help you acknowledge those thoughts and feelings, and let them go without further suffering within.
6. Wedding makeup styles
Let’s talk about makeup. For some of us makeup is one of our best power tools and we get so excited for a night out just to glam up! Makeup can be a lot of fun to play around with, and is a really good way to express yourself, but not all of us have the confidence to wear a bold makeup look or just have not explored enough and therefore do not have a lot of experience.
At a boudoir or a burlesque photo shoot you get a chance to glam up! If you are a bride, that has been sceptical about which kind of makeup look to go for on your big day and have been considering a bold wedding makeup with red lips look or a sexy Smokey eye, but you are simply not sure if you can pull it off or just don’t have the confidence to wear it, this would be a good time to grab the opportunity to gain your confidence back and get your sexy and fun side out!
At a bridal boudoir photo shoot or a Burlesque photo shoot there will be a makeup artist ready to glam you up and give you the best experience! If you already have an idea of what makeup looks to go for it is always good to discuss your vision beforehand with your artist. Having a trial is always beneficial to test out the longevity of the makeup products and with a shoot you get a bonus to see how well you will look in the photos!
If you are still stuck on the perfect makeup look and don’t really know where to start you may want to check out our wedding makeup tips and tricks, on our How to Wear Wedding Make-up for Beginners blog post for further inspiration.
7. Hire a Wedding Planner to help keep you at ease
Many brides are known to be left with much of the decision making for their wedding. Your mind will be constantly thinking about your wedding day and how it will turn out. However, we sometimes forget that delegating our plans to an expert can often lighten the load off from our loved ones.
You may be anxious about the outcome of your wedding but by having the support of a professional planner will empower you and make you feel you’re no longer alone and will definitely help to build up your self-esteem during the process.
There’s nothing better having someone there to help support you through the stressful months ahead and a wedding planner will be happy to discuss your wedding plans till the cows come home! Think of them as your sounding board. A person to talk to when things may be getting you down and taking away many of the time-consuming, boring tasks.
Written credit to Mariam Al-Abdallah
We hope you found this article useful. Please feel free to COMMENT or SHARE If you have any questions or require any assistance with your planning or general advice. Do not hesitate to contact me on admin@valentineweddings.co.uk
